Name: Sigurd Andreassen Yggeseth Rank: Chief Engineer WWII Service: SS Lago, Norwegian Merchant Navy Date of Birth: September 26, 1890 Place of Birth: Aker, Akershus, Norway Merchant Navy: 1918 - 1940 Height: 5 Feet, 6 Inches Complexion: Fair Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Light Occupation: Marine Engineer Marital Status: Single Date of Death: May 9, 1940 Age: 49 Cemetery: Mountain Cemetery, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Grave: Reserved Lot Number 66 (unmarked) Sigurd Andreassen Yggeseth was born in Aker, Akershus, Norway, the son of Andreas Olsen Yggeseth (b. 1852) and Hanna Kristiane Yggeseth (b. 1852) and brother of Dagmar, Marie, Ole, Gudolf, Martin, and Aagot Yggeseth. On June 6, 1918, Sigurd, at the age of 27, departed Christiania, Norway as a passenger on the SS Berginsfjord, and arrived in New York, USA, on June 22, 1918. His passage was to join the crew of the Norwegian Merchant Ship, SS Kargarli at New York. He joined the crew of the SS Kargarli on July 14, 1918 and served as Second Engineer. The Kargarli, formally the Georgian, was a passenger and cargo ship. His voyages on this ship took him to the ports of New York, Galveston, and New Orleans, in the United States, Le Havre in France, and the ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth in England. Sigurd travelled as a passenger on the SS Condor that departed Hamburg, Germany, in September 1921 for Christiania Norway. He then served on the SS Isonomia. He joined the crew on December 12, 1922, and served initially as third Assistant Engineer. In 1924 he served as Second Assistant Engineer, and as First Assistant Engineer in 1925. His voyages between 1922 and 1925 took him from Port Townsend in Washington State to the Australian port of Sydney, the port of Callau, Peru, to San Fransico, and Antofagasta, Chile to Balboa (Panama). He next signed on to the MS Indra of the Winge Line Oslo Norway, on February 2, 1925, serving as Third Engineer. This ship made voyages to the ports of Victoria, British Columbia, Tacoma and Seattle, in Washington State, San Francisco, and Jamacia in the Caribbean. Sigurd Yggeseth appears to have been continuously employed at sea in the position of Engineer from 1918 through the 1930s. On March 13, 1934, he joined the SS Lago at Sandefjord, a coastal town in southeastern Norway, about 120 kilometers south of Oslo He remained with the SS Logo through the WWII years and continued to serve during the war until his death. In 1934 he served as First Engineer and in 1938 as Chief Engineer. The Logo made voyages from US ports to Cuba between 1934 and 1939. In 1937 there were transatlantic crossings from New York, Boston, and New London, Conn., to Fowey, and Rotterdam in Europe. During the war, the Lago was administered by the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship). Nortraship was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company in the world. It made a major contribution to the Allied war effort. In 1940 the ship was in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, a hub for war-related manufacturing and a key point for shipping during WWII. On May 9, 1940, enroute to the United States, the Lago entered the port of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Their Chief Engineer had become ill and taken ashore was admitted to the Yarmouth Hospital. Sigurd was attended to by Doctor Charles Ashton Webster (b. 1864) Chief Engineer Sigurd Yggeseth died May 9, 1940. The immediate cause of death was asphyxiation, as a result of the rupture of an abscess of his tonsils, which entering his lungs. His death certificate was signed by the Master of the SS Lago, L Halbert, and burial arrangements were administered by Sweenys Funeral Home of Yarmouth. He was interred 2 days later on May 11, 1940, at Mountain Cemetery in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. His grave remains unmarked.

Sigurd Andreassen Yggeseth

Sources: NS Death Certificate Seaman’s Memorial Hall of Norway Ship Crew lists Merchant Navy Burial Plot – Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery